Minority healthcare workers more exposed to COVID-19‒related stressors

Healthcare workers belonging to racial and ethnic minorities show greater exposure to several COVID-19‒related stressors, indicating a structural racism in the workforce, reports a study.

The authors analysed survey data from a total of 992 healthcare workers. Using adjusted logistic regression models, they examined the differential prevalence of outcomes by race/ethnicity and their interactions.

Asian, Black, Latinx, and multiracial/other healthcare workers reported significantly higher exposure to multiple COVID-19‒related stressors compared with their White colleagues. These stressors included redeployment, fear of being sick, lack of autonomy at work, and inadequate access to personal protective equipment.

Reporting a greater number of COVID-19‒related stressors contributed to pandemic-related distress in all groups and with adverse mental health outcomes in some. It was not, however, associated with hazardous alcohol use in any of these groups. In addition, such associations did not significantly differ between racial and ethnic groups.

Latinx healthcare workers, however, were significantly more likely to have pandemic-related distress and post-traumatic stress than their White colleagues.

Notably, Black, Asian, and multiracial/other healthcare workers showed the same, if not lower, prevalence of adverse of mental health outcomes despite being more exposed to COVID-19‒related stressors. On the other hand, White healthcare workers had a higher prevalence of moderate-to-severe anxiety than Asian colleagues and greater hazardous alcohol use than all the other groups.

“These results underscore the need for increased support for healthcare workers and interventions aimed at mitigating disparities in vocational exposure to risk and stress,” the authors said.